Annual Awards

Virginia Youth Soccer Association is now accepting award nominations for the 2022-2023 Season. Submit nominations by September 30th, 2023.

Each year, the Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) strives to recognize individuals who positively impact the game of soccer in Virginia and the District of Columbia. Award winners are honored each February at the VYSA Annual Awards Gala. Nominated individuals are also eligible for recognition by US Youth Soccer at the USYS Annual Awards Gala.

The deadline to submit nominations is September 30, 2023.

The following categories are available for nomination:

Coach of the Year [pdf]
- Recreational (boys)
- Recreational (girls)
- Competitive (boys)
- Competitive (girls)
Administrator of the Year [pdf]
Volunteer of the Year [pdf]
TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year [pdf]
TOPSoccer Coach of the Year [pdf ]
Young Referee of the Year [pdf]
VA/DC Teammate of the Year [pdf]
Team Manager of the Year [pdf]
Club of the Year [pdf]
Website of the Year [pdf]
Best Use of Social Media (Digital Media Award) [pdf]
Outstanding Facility Recognition [pdf]

Please send all nominations using the available form(s) to [email protected] with the subject of '2023 Awards Nomination for [category]'

Ex: 2023 Award Nomination for Volunteer of the Year

NEW Award Categories

In an effort to further promote the game of soccer and recognize more members, the Virginia Youth Soccer Association has added several new awards to the 2023 VYSA Annual Awards lineup. The newly added awards are listed below.

Club of the Year
Team Manager of the Year
Website of the Year
Best Use of Social Media (Digital Media Award)
Outstanding Facility Recognition
Coach Education Exemplary Standard Recipient
Club Growth of the Year
Tournament of the Year

2022 USYS Regional Winners

The following individuals have been recognized by US Youth Soccer for the contributions to the game on the regional level. Congratulations!

USYS Regional Administrator of the Year
Nan Beck
Chesapeake United Soccer Club

USYS Regional Girls Competitive Coach of the Year
Roger Friedman
Burke Athletic Club

2023 Hall of Fame Inductees

Each year, at the Virginia Youth Soccer Association Awards Gala, the Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame honors soccer heroes with ties to Virginia and Washington D.C. Congratulations to the following inductees to be recognized at the 2023 VYSA Awards Gala.

VA-DC Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2023
Janet Caswell, Player
David Stokes, Player
Brian Ahearn, Meritorious Service
Doug Engstrom, Meritorious Service
Peter Mehlert, Meritorious Service
Chris Norris, Meritorious Service
Colin Calvert (Posthumously), Veteran

Adele Dolansky Award

This award is the highest award bestowed on a VYSA member. It is presented by the Virginia Youth Soccer Association in recognition of exemplary service to the soccer-playing youth of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia. This award is selected by the VYSA President in consultation with Adele Dolansky. No Nominations for this award are accepted.

Previous Award Winners

1996 Adele Dolansky
1997 Larry Monaco
1998 Mavis Derflinger and George Towner
1999 Len Oliver and August Wooter
2000 Dean Jones
2001 Jim Down
2002 Simon Cargill
2003 Brenda Down
2004 Anne Thompson
2005 Martin Hooker
2006 Tom Halstead
2007 Karen Knott
2008 Gary Allen
2009 John "Mac" McLaughlin
2010 Bob Maynes
2011 J. Marcelo Gangotena
2012 Paul Mungra
2013 Debi Honaker
2014 Robert Perry
2015 Julie Caramanica
2016 Ed Bonilla
2017 Barry Finkelstein
2018 Pat Delaney
2019 Karen Klumpp and George Vergara
2020 Cathy Mann
2021 Gordon Miller
2022 Ann Germain

Dave Williams Memorial Award

Dave Williams’ hard work, enthusiasm, and big heart helped grow the VYSA TOPSoccer program from just a few clubs to the many that now participate. His commitment and dedication to VYSA players with disabilities were exemplary.

In honor of Dave Williams’ efforts and results of his hard work, the state association established the Dave Williams Memorial TOPSoccer Exemplary Service Award. Dave Williams is the first recipient of this award.

The award criteria are as follows:
a. exemplary service to TOPSoccer programs to include program development
b. exemplary service to TOPSoccer athletes and parents
c. minimum of 10 years service prior to nomination

*The absence of a qualified nominee as determined by the VYSA Board of Directors will result in no award winner being named for that year. Any nominees not selected for this award will be eligible for the Volunteer of the Year award.

A memorial plaque listing the names of those selected for this award is kept at the VYSA State Office.

2006 Dave Williams
2007 Ariel Schwartz
2011 Bob Sokolinsky
2012 Sharon Wells
2013 Wes Brownlee
2014 Toby Brown
2016 John Schlenker
2018 Sid Wesseldine
2021 Theodore Renaud
2022 Steve O'Neil
2022 Bob Zadeh

2022 Award Winners

The Virginia Youth Soccer Association is pleased to introduce the VYSA Award Winners for the 2021-2022 season. These individuals were recognized for their positive impact on the game of soccer in Virginia and the District of Columbia at the VYSA Annual Awards Gala held on February 11, 2023.

Administrator of the Year, Nan Beck (CUSC)
Volunteer of the Year, Eric Highsmith
Team Manager of the Year, Tracy Krehbiel (Valley United)
Boys Competitive Coach of the Year, Daynor Garcia (Team America FC)
Girls Competitive Coach of the Year, Roger Friedman (Burke Athletic Club)
Boys Recreational Coach of the Year, Jacob Sahms (Richmond Kickers)
Girls Recreational Coach of the Year, Michael Viala (New River United)
TOPSoccer Coach of the Year, Sean Harrigan (Stafford Soccer)
TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year, Lily Fry (Culpeper Soccer Club)
Young Female Referee of the Year, Morgan Neal (SRP)
Young Male Referee of the Year, Cole Rozwadowski (SRP)

Dave William Memorial TOPSoccer Exemplary Service Award
Steve O'Neil, VIP United
Bob Zadeh, Vienna Youth Soccer

2020 & 2021 Award Winners

The following individuals are recognized for the positive contributions to the game of soccer in Virginia and the District of Columbia for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 Season. These two seasons of Award winners were honored at the 2022 VYSA Annual Awards Gala on February 12, 2022.

2020 Annual Award Winners
Boys Competitive Coach of the Year, Chris Panayiotou
Girls Competitive Coach of the Year, Gary Malebranche
Boys Recreational Coach of the Year, Eric Tellefsen
Girls Recreational Coach of the Year, John Allison
Administrator of the Year, Susan Simpson
Volunteer of the Year, Tammy Renshaw
Young Female Referee of the Year, Taylor Nicole Lamb
Young Male Referee of the Year, Mathew Ryder
VA/DC Teammate of the Year, Lacey Rousseau
TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year, Evan Bauer

2021 Annual Award Winners
Boys Competitive Coach of the Year, Oscar Feliu
Girls Competitive Coach of the Year, Tom Brown
Boys Recreational Coach of the Year, Meagan Kalchbrenner
Girls Recreational Coach of the Year, Erin East
Administrator of the Year, Melissa Riemer
Volunteer of the Year, Jeff Dramstad
Young Female Referee of the Year, Kayla Emond
Young Male Referee of the Year, Zackery Moss
TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year, Aeshan Kapil
VA/DC Teammate of the Year,

Website Manager

Virginia Youth Soccer Association